Businessman Tebadi Collins Foromo has come under renewed scrutiny after his company, TTTB Supplying and Construction, received nearly R60 million from the City of Ekurhuleni in payments linked to a mobile chemical toilet contract.
According to a News24 investigation published this week, TTTB has received just under R60 million from Ekurhuleni since July 2025. The payments are connected to a controversial mobile chemical toilet tender valued at about R1.8 billion.
The tender has attracted further attention because it was being investigated by Ekurhuleni chief forensic auditor Mpho Mafole before he was murdered in June 2025. Mafole had reportedly raised concerns about the procurement process shortly before his death.
Foromo’s earlier state contracts
Foromo’s involvement in government contracts dates back more than a decade, with his business activities previously documented in Limpopo.
In 2012, the Mail & Guardian reported that the University of Limpopo had confirmed awarding Foromo a R27.8 million tender for the conversion of a gymnasium into a laboratory. The contract was awarded in July 2011 and formed the first phase of a project estimated at about R60 million.
Foromo defended the award and rejected suggestions that political connections had influenced the contract.
“I bid for the tender like any other businessman who saw it in the newspaper, not because of the political connection.”
The university’s marketing and communications executive director, Kgalema Mohuba, said he was “unaware of this serious allegation” when questioned about claims surrounding the contracts.
The R917 000 pothole contract
Foromo was also linked to a Limpopo pothole repair contract worth R917 000.
Contemporary reporting by amaBhungane placed the payment within a broader investigation into Limpopo roads contracts and reported that Foromo received the money for pothole repairs. The reporting has since been repeatedly cited in accounts of his early tender history.
The R63 million tender investigation
Foromo was among several people arrested in November 2012 in connection with a Limpopo pothole tender investigation involving contracts worth about R63 million.
The Hawks alleged that contracts had been awarded under questionable circumstances. IOL reported that Foromo’s TC Foromo Trading Enterprise was among the companies that received contracts to repair potholes.
Hawks spokesperson Captain Paul Ramaloko said at the time: “Our investigations are continuing. We will make more arrests, some of them will not enjoy Christmas.”
Foromo and the other accused were granted bail after appearing in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court.
Being arrested and charged does not amount to a conviction. The historical case was later provisionally withdrawn by the National Prosecuting Authority, according to subsequent reporting.
Ekurhuleni contract remains under scrutiny
The latest developments have shifted attention back to Ekurhuleni, where TTTB’s payments form part of a much larger chemical toilet programme.
The City has faced criticism over its spending on temporary sanitation. In November 2025, the Freedom Front Plus said Ekurhuleni was spending R664.7 million a year on 46,321 chemical toilets. The party called for an independent forensic investigation into the contracts.
The Democratic Alliance in Gauteng has separately called for the report into the R1.8 billion chemical toilet tender to be tabled before Ekurhuleni council. The party said the report was compiled by Mafole before his death.
The latest News24 investigation has therefore renewed questions about how the Ekurhuleni contracts were awarded and which companies benefited from them.
At this stage, the documented record establishes that Foromo’s company has received nearly R60 million from Ekurhuleni since July 2025 and that his business has previously been awarded substantial public-sector contracts. It does not, on its own, establish that the Ekurhuleni payments were obtained unlawfully or that Foromo committed a criminal offence in relation to them.
The procurement questions, the forensic audit and the circumstances surrounding Mafole’s murder remain separate matters, and any criminal liability would ultimately have to be established through due legal process.
